Teenage gang violence: Perpetrators accused of fatal schoolboy killing in Nakhon Phanom road chase

A gang of six teenagers have been apprehended for their alleged involvement in the death of a 14 year old boy, who was attacked with weapons on August 19. The teenage gang violence incident took place by the roadside of a dual carriageway in Nakhon Phanom province of northeast Thailand.

News reports advancing the teenage gang violence case details reveal that the group chased and attacked the young boy, who was also a secondary school student. The assault took place on a roadway leading to Kusuman district, along a canal near Ban Chok Amnuai School in Wang Ta Mua subdistrict, Mueang Nakhon Phanom district, Nakhon Phanom province.

The police were led by Major General Techakriengkrai, Superintendent of Mueang Nakhon Phanom Police Station, who delegated investigative tasks to the team. With the collaboration of Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom Provincial investigation unit, they interviewed six witnesses and identified the culprits.

The confiscated weaponry consisted of a 1 metre long Spartan sword, a 22 metre long sword, and a 2.5 metre long wood stick. The suspects were taken into custody for questioning at Mueang Nakhon Phanom Police Station. The number of assailants amounted to six, five of them aged 15 to 18, and one, Wiphawin, 19 years old. All of them originated from the Chok Amnuai village, Wang Taku subdistrict.

The initial investigation into the teenage gang violence involved more than five hours of questioning in the presence of guardians and social workers revealed that the group admitted to the offence that led to the death of the young boy.

They claimed to have acted in fury after the deceased boy, driving a Yamaha motorcycle with another 15 year old boy, taunted and threw a table tennis bomb at them near the Ban Chok Amnuai Health Promotion Hospital. The group, in response, pursued the deceased by motorcycle.

One of the culprits allegedly attacked him with the 2.5 metre stick before two others joined the chase resulting in the boy losing control of his vehicle and falling into a 3 metre deep canal. The gang, however, denied any form of knife attack, reported KhaoSod.

Although the preliminary charge against the group was premeditated murder, the precise cause of death remains uncertain until the post-mortem examination result from Srinakarin Hospital’s Forensic Institute is obtained. The accused are expected to be taken to an Investigation Officer at Mueang Nakhon Phanom Police Station for further legal proceedings to take place.